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Overview:
The United States military was largely taken by surprise at Pearl Harbor in 1941, although there had been some indication that the Japanese might be planning an attack. This lesson asks students to consider the United States' level of preparedness for the attack and to think about what the U.S. could have done to be better prepared. Students will conclude by writing letters to American military commanders in the summer of 1941, suggesting what they might do to prepare for a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, United States history, world history
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 13: "How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
Objectives:
Students will
- describe what they already know about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor;
- hypothesize the reasons why the United States suffered such severe losses at Pearl Harbor;
- conduct Internet research on Pearl Harbor, and answer some questions about the United States' level of preparedness for the attack; and
- imagine that they can go back in time, and write letters explaining to American military commanders at Pearl Harbor what they can do to prepare for a Japanese attack.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Ask students to describe the things they already know about why the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and what happened as a result of the attack. If necessary, students can explore National Geographic's Remembering Pearl Harbor or the BBC's Pearl Harbor: A Rude Awakening to learn some basics about Pearl Harbor.
Have students look at this map of Pearl Harbor before the bombing. Ask them to estimate the number of U.S. military ships in the harbor as the Japanese began their attack.
Development:
Ask students to hypothesize the reasons the United States suffered severe losses at Pearl Harbor. They might state that the Americans were taken by surprise or that the American ships weren't prepared for an air attack. Write their ideas on the board, and inform students that they will be learning more about this question during the rest of the lesson.
Ask students to make charts that contain the following questions:
- What warnings did the United States government and military have to indicate that the Japanese might attack Pearl Harbor?
- What were the U.S. servicemen doing just before the attack began? Were they expecting the attack? (Provide examples)
- Why wasn't the United States better prepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor?
- What could the United States have done to better prepare itself for the attack?
Have the students go to the following Web sites to gather information that will help them answer the questions they have written on their charts:
National Geographic: Beyond the Movie—Pearl Harbor
National Geographic: Expedition Pearl Harbor
National Geographic: Remembering Pearl Harbor
Survivors' Remembrances
War Warning
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Closing:
Discuss students' findings as a class. What evidence did the Web sites provide to answer the four questions in the chart?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Ask students to imagine that they can go back in time to the summer of 1941, knowing what they now know about the Japanese plans. Have them write letters to the American military commanders at Pearl Harbor, explaining what they should do to prepare for the possibility of a Japanese attack. Then have them write separate paragraphs explaining whether they think the commanders would have heeded their advice, assuming they had the power to do so.
Extending the Lesson:
Divide the class into two large groups. Tell the class to pretend it's late December 1941. Have one group be a team of United States government officials and the other a team of Japanese government officials. Stage a presentation and debate in which each group takes turns explaining its side of the Pearl Harbor story. Students may write statements representing the views of their side and then read these statements to the class.
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